Believe it or not, and even after his 2024 season, there have been critics of Scottie Scheffler. Yes, even after his dominant season last year, there were some who were starting to wonder if that was merely a flash in the pan, and not the new norm. After all, Scheffler’s delayed start to the season saw him struggle, but even Scheffler’s proverbial struggles would be some golfer’s career bests.

Nonetheless, Scheffler silenced those critics at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this past weekend with a dominant performance, finishing -31, and winning by 8 strokes over the field.

“This tournament means a lot to me,” Scheffler told the CBS broadcast after the victory. “It’s my first start as a pro, 11 years ago, I had my sister caddying for. … It feels like a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice for little moments like these. They’re pretty special.”

It wasn’t just the Scheffler family who was shocked by the performance last weekend. It was also his peers who took notice.

“What he’s doing is inspiring, what he’s been doing is inspiring,” said Jordan Spieth, who grew up hearing about Scheffler, a town over, who was younger and really, really good. “I mean, it wasn’t that long ago I was definitely better than him, and now I’m definitely not right now.

“I hate admitting that about anybody, but I just watched it those first two rounds, and like I’ve got to get better. It’s very inspiring.”

“I don’t play with the world number one too often, and you’re almost flabbergasted in a way because, like that 5-iron on nine comes to mind because I hit it to whatever it was, five feet, and he just makes eagle,” said Erik van Rooyen, who had his own 8-under 63 and finished at 23 under, which would have been the lowest or tied for the lowest score at this event every year in its history, save two – and this year.

“There’s nothing you can do. Scottie was practically flawless, which is kind of what you expect from the world number one.”

You can’t help but not feel for van Rooyen. Can you imagine shooting -23 in a 4-day tournament and not just coming in second, but by 8 strokes?! Needless to say, Scheffler knows this course extremely well and knew he was going to have to keep his foot on the gas if he wanted to claim his first win of 2025.

“This is a golf course where you can kind of make a run, and I knew that I couldn’t just coast to the finish line today. I knew I had to put together a good round. Let’s say I played super safe today and shot even par, Erik would have chased me down there,” Scheffler said. “I knew I had to get out and make some birdies. Did a good job on the front nine and was able to play some consistent golf here.”

“I think that’s what’s great about our game,” Scheffler said. “This week, I was the best player. I have the week off, and we’ll see the week after who is the best player at the PGA. Rory has been playing some tremendous golf this year. The career Grand Slam was really special to watch. I was glad to be able to be there for it.

“I think any time you’re getting beat, you’re always fired up just a little bit extra to go out and practice.”

Despite this week’s event being a signature event, Scheffler is taking the week of in preparation for the next major on the calendar. The PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina will be the next time Scheffler plays on the PGA Tour, and he’s looking to win the event for the first time in his career. His best finish was 2023, when he finished tied for second.

Jeff Hartman is the host of the Fairways & Dreams podcast, and you can hear the latest show in the podcast player below: